This book goes beyond economic perceptions, experience, hopes or fears to introduce explicit evaluations of prosperity and poverty—whether they are justified or not, whether they are fair or not, whether, in particular, economic inequality might be considered fairer than equality. It is a significantly more sophisticated approach than one which relates political support merely to economic experience and perceptions themselves. This is a highly distinctive study, with its focus on economic justice rather than economic performance.
Europe-Asia Studies
There is plenty in this book that is invaluable. For anyone interested in the postcommunist transformation, this volume is indispensable.
Contemporary Sociology
Invaluable for its longtitudal, comparative approach, Marketing Democracy addresses public opinion in east and central Europe regarding social, political, and economic justice. The quality of these articles is generally high. This volume is a useful resource for specialists on forced migrations of people but could also be fruitfully assigned as an introduction to the field.
Slavic Review
This is a valuable contribution to transition/transformation studies. The introduction can be recommended for students seeking an introduction to public opinion and political change in the post-communist countries, other chapters are more specialized and will be useful for area studies courses on specific countries (the ones of Russia, Hungary and East Germany are particularly interesting). The book is well documented and has a good bibliography.
Political Studies Review
A substantial and important work. A particular strength is the east-west as well as over-time dimension. This book makes a significant contribution to the comparative politics of postcommunism.
Stephen White, University of Glasgow